Planetariums have always been very popular. It is so interesting to look at what astronomers have the good fortune to see through the telescope lens. And for people not connected with space and astronomy, the contemplation of stars was available only on a cloudless night. Today, residents of a city such as Yekaterinburg can visit the planetarium at any time: just go during a walk and have a great time.
Who and why invented the planetarium
People really wanted to watch the stars, not only at night. That is why a planetarium was created. After all, the sky in the Northern and Southern hemispheres is different, and a person can see certain constellations only when he arrives in another country, almost on the opposite side of the world. But over time, the first planetarium apparatus was created in 1925 at the German Zeiss plant, which was located in Jena. Since that time, it became possible to observe the stars, planets and galaxies in a special House. Visitors lined up in huge lines. “Houses with stars” began to be built in many cities of the world, and Yekaterinburg was no exception - a planetarium also appeared there.
But at the moment, humanity is striving to make scientific life more popular than it is now, and therefore such an apparatus as a planetarium has been improved. So the digital planetarium appeared - another step of man on the path to knowledge about the universe.
New pride of Russia
Of course, planetariums in Russia have been and remain quite popular. Schoolchildren take excursions there, young lovers go on dates, and parents with children visit them. And most recently - on May 28, 2014 - a unique digital planetarium was built in Russia. Yekaterinburg has become the place where it is located. The whole country is proud of this planetarium.
The advent of the digital planetarium was the first step towards the implementation of the project of the “Center for Popular Science”. His team is committed to making science more interesting for people, using modern technology and various methods. It was decided that a new landmark of the city should be placed in the popular Salyut cinema, so the digital planetarium is now located on the ground floor. Today it is the only one in Russia.
Features of the digital planetarium in Yekaterinburg
In order to delight viewers with projections of the starry sky, the planetarium in Yekaterinburg uses the latest visual imaging technologies. Because the projectors were created specifically for playing pictures in a dome screen. A visitor to the institution will be able to look at the sky, which is four billion years old, because the planetarium contains models of the starry sky for the entire existence of our Earth.
At the same time 34 people can be in the viewing room. Viewers have the opportunity to watch science films in today's popular 3D format and to study the history of stars and the universe not from boring textbooks, but from fascinating tapes. But this is not all the advantages that Ekaterinburg possesses (the planetarium is meant) - there is the possibility of broadcasting pictures of the starry sky from observatories located in different parts of the world. You can also listen to interesting lectures on astronomy, astronautics and the history of space exploration by man.
Not only useful, but also interesting
Over time, the organizers of the project from the "Center for Popular Science" plan to show visitors not only the starry sky and films about space, but also art and music tapes. The capabilities of the latest technology allow this to project managers. They plan to create programs for visitors of different age categories - toddlers from 3 to 6 years old, children of primary and secondary school age, high school students and adults.
They plan to use American programs, but the Russian viewer can easily understand them thanks to the painstaking work of translators who adapt films for residents of Russia.
Another important issue is the pricing policy in such an institution as the planetarium in Salute (Yekaterinburg). To view a standard program lasting 1 hour, a visitor must buy a ticket costing approximately 250-300 rubles, which, you see, is quite inexpensive. Today, even a movie ticket costs us more. And the pride of a city like Yekaterinburg, a planetarium equipped with the latest technology, deserves such a small payment.
